Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 791,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,031 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.18% of Zoetis worth $129,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.